• Supplies:
  • H43 Postscript Denim 59 80% Cotton 20% Linen, machine wash cold, tumble dry low, fabric remnant dated 3-17-2018 (0.807 yd x $29.99 = $24.20 and remnants are 50% off) purchased from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores
  • 16″ x 20″ stretcher bars (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)
  • sewed on patches with machine, then went over the flower patch by hand with green thread
  • sewing the ribbon on by hand
  • sewed the sides of the canvas poster with a satin stitch using my sewing machine
  • next time may glue/use mat gel medium on the canvas poster and possibly put it on last as I was bending it while I hand sewed the white rose patch and even the ribbon
  • Château de Chambord Large Size Famous Architectures Prints in Europe Rome Florence Berlin Home 20x10in no frame US $8.25 purchased on AliExpress in December 2017

• Process:
  • assembled stretcher bars using glue and a staple gun
  • signed the back using a sharpie and ribbon and the custom ‘Sew Isabel’ stamp I purchased
  • I stapled this to stretcher bars with acid free foam board glued to the stretcher bars and did not use any adhesive such as acrylic matte gel medium
    • in the future I plan to paint the sides of the stretcher bars and cut the fabric to the size of the stretcher bars and zigzag stitch the edges and then sew on rattail binding and then use adhesive to secure the project to the acid free foam board on the stretcher bars
  • Next time I might glue the canvas to the fabric partially as it is just not flat on the fabric. However, I am working on another project now in which I glued a canvas poster with acrylic matte gel medium to a canvas panel board and it has air bubbles despite using a small craft squeegee tool.
  • I satin stitched the sides of the canvas poster to the fabric with my sewing machine and then hand stitched the ribbon. The edges of the fabric are secured with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying. I actually put this in a frame with Plexiglas and am hoping to get a point driver for Christmas to secure it to the frame.

I would have posted a slideshow on YouTube of this but because of the video “What a Copyright Strike Taught Me – A Wake Up Call for the Diamond Painting Community” by Tiny Worlds of Wonder (https://youtu.be/l7Vo44-B6bc) I don’t want to take any chances with copyrights. My YouTube channel is not anywhere near the commercial/monetization level so maybe I could get away with it. If it is for personal use it is generally much safer with copyright issues than if there is commercial use.  I have older craft kits I purchased and did not think copyright was an issue with them. Going forward I going to make sure it is a copyright free item and stick to the public domain photos and or older paintings or have something uniquely my own. My next diamond painting kit I plan to work on is “The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning” by Camille Pissarro purchased from AliExpress seller Zamyel Store. This craft project is not a diamond painting kit, but the Château de Chambord canvas poster image may have a copyright that is not public domain. I just purchased the canvas poster as I thought it was pretty and it really looked like a large and old and stately château.

Recently (April 2020), I noticed I have not used a lot of standard canvas sizes and when I was looking into framing it generally costs much more and is more difficult to work with a non-standard or uncommon size. In the future I plan to use the following common canvas sizes:

• 11″ x 14″
  • 11 to 14 aspect ratio
  • 27 cm x 35 cm
    • 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm
  • medium-sized rectangle canvas
  • common size
• 12″ x 16″
  • 3 to 4 aspect ratio
  • 30 cm x 40 cm
    • 30.48 cm x 40.64 cm
  • medium-sized rectangle canvas
  • common size
• 16″ x 20″
  • 4 to 5 aspect ratio
  • 40 cm x 50 cm
    • 40.64 cm x 50.8 cm
  • medium-sized rectangle canvas
    • more on the border of medium-to-large-sized canvas
    • probably the largest standard/common medium-sized canvas
  • common size

Occasional Canvas Sizes

I may occasionally consider the following common canvas sizes:

• 8″ x 10″
  • 4 to 5 aspect ratio
  • 20 cm x 25 cm
    • 20.32 cm x 25.4 cm
  • medium-sized rectangle canvas
  • common size
• 9″ x 12″
  • 3 to 4 aspect ratio
  • 23 cm x 30 cm
    • 22.86 cm 30.48 cm
  • medium-sized rectangle canvas
  • common size
• 12″ x 12″
  • 1 to 1 aspect ratio
  • 30 cm x 30 cm
    • 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm
  • medium-sized square canvas
  • common size
• 20″ x 20″
  • 1 to 1 aspect ratio
  • 50 cm x 50 cm
    • 50.8 cm x 50.8 cm
    • maybe 51 cm is not common, some online charts such as lucyart.co.uk have this as 50 cm and not 51 cm
  • large-sized square canvas
  • common size
    • think this is more of a fairly common size
• 18″ x 24″
  • 3 to 4 aspect ratio
  • 45 cm x 60 cm
    • 45.72 cm x 60.96 cm
  • large-sized rectangle canvas
  • common size

Right now, I am leaning towards the medium sizes of 11 x 14 and 12 x 16 and occasionally 16 x 20. If the canvas size is large I have found it more difficult to work with and transport and it costs more to frame and ship etc. Due to those reasons I definitely prefer common medium canvas sizes. Larger canvas sizes are eye-catching and make a statement, but it is not a good fit for me right now. Larger sizes generally seem like they are for the more advanced artists and craft enthusiasts. Of course, that is not always true and there are amazing and very advanced miniaturist artists.  Arts and crafts are subjective. Some people prefer large canvas sizes and others do not, it just depends. It is ultimately a personal preference and judgement. There is nothing wrong with using uncommon canvas sizes. However, I find the benefits of common medium sized canvases a great fit for me.

Sources

• A List of Aspect Ratios of Common Canvas Sizes Posted on 4/3/2017 11:50:55 AM by Vianna Szabo Accessed March 2020 – has a pdf to download – https://www.viannaszabo.com/blog/118176/a-list-of-aspect-ratios-of-common-canvas-sizes
• Article: “Bigger Isn’t Always Better: How to Pick the Perfect Art Canvas” (By Jessie Oleson Moore January 29, 2019 10:06 AM) https://www.mybluprint.com/article/how-big-should-your-art-canvas-be-heres-how-to-size-up-your-choices accessed 3/13/2020)
• https://lucyart.co.uk/size.php – a chart of standard canvas sizes in centimeters and inches – accessed February 2020
• Article: “The 9 Most Common Canvas Sizes and Why You Should Use Them” (In Acrylic Painting by Chris Breier April 24, 2019) https://drawandpaintforfun.com/most-common-canvas-sizes/ – accessed 3/27/2020 – This article has a nice downloadable chart on common canvas sizes and aspect ratios

Below is a slideshow of my progress completing a doorway diamond embroidery kit.

• posted this on YouTube August 24, 2018
  • removed video November 2020 out of concern of copyright issues, not sure if it is public domain
• 30 x 40 cm (11.8″ x 15.7″) pre-framed doorway diamond embroidery kit, purchased on AliExpress from seller Painting Handmade Store
• fiverr.com slideshow creator ragavendran2016, music Swing by Peyruis https://soundcloud.com/peyruis
  • video slide in the middle is fast-forwarded, was originally 1:15
    • The video slide shows how it is important to place the provided drill mud (in my case it is a semi-transparent pink color) on the provided drill (in this slideshow it looks like a pink pen) and then to place the diamonds/beads on the corresponding location
  • took and chose all the photos and video slide myself, I adjusted the camera multiple times for the video slide
• used picture hanger wire and screw eyes on the back and have it hanging on a 3M brand Command damage free wire utility hook hanger on the wall
• ended up putting ‘Jolee’s Boutique All That Bling Mini Adhesive Stud Gems’ purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics on the frame
• used a foam brush to apply Judikins Diamond Glaze Dimensional Adhesive (purchased from createforless.com) over the finished kit
  • there were a few diamonds that came off when I did this, I was able to replace all of them except for one, I could not and still cannot figure out where it was on the kit or where it could be, next time I will brush on the glaze a little more slowly and possibly use a small picture painting brush and make sure to let heavy books sit on top of the kit to make sure the beads adhere the adhesive backing
  • it may have been unnecessary to use the glaze, but I wanted to add more security to the diamond bead adhesion
  • I read about different glazes and how some of them may or may not yellow over time, like decades, Judikins is acid free and applied in a thick layer and exposed to prolonged sunlight it may yellow, acrylic gel mediums are supposedly non-yellowing
• on the back I used matte gel medium with a foam brush and a craft glue to adhere the sequins
  • the matte gel medium did smear the marker where I signed my name and the date(because I placed it on top, apparently it is best place it on the back and the apply the beads, paper etc) and I ended up cutting my signed name and date on cardstock and then gluing with the matte gel medium on the back of the paper
  • next time I would brush the matte gel medium on the back and then apply the beads, paper etc, it takes a long time for it to dry, at least overnight
  • kind of learned the hard way to place matte gel medium on the back first and then apply the beads etc. and then maybe also a top layer
• in the future I would like to list some of my artwork/completed kits for sale on this site, I think a price for this completed kit should be around $50 because of the cost of shipping, the kit/materials, slideshow and labor
• the camera photo dates range from March 2018 to August 2018. The reason for the span of over five months is probably because I have a job, I have to take care of myself, and I have other hobbies and things to attend to and I tend to have half finished craft projects around (when I am working on one craft project I tend to start another one). If I was to have worked full-time on completing the kit, realistically, I think it would have taken 3 to 5 days to complete. Of course, really pushing things it could be done in less time. However, working that fast would probably negatively affect my health and I would not enjoy working on it that much, and the quality would be lower. As a general rule each portion the size of your hand takes about an hour. I did not time myself, but this definitely took hours and hours. I do not mind spending time on these projects because it helps with stress relief and increases focus and I am able to listen to the radio, a webcast, YouTube video etc. while I complete the kit.